Rural households income diversification, climate change and food security in Kenya

Climate change and climate variability affect weather patterns and cause shifts in seasons resulting to negative effects such as declining food production and productivity for communities and households in Kenya. Since most rural households in Kenya depend on agriculture as their main source of food supply and livelihood, the effects of climate change and climate variability are likely to compromise the food security status in most of these households. One way of mitigating climate change is through diversification of income sources to alternatives such as seeking formal employment, establishing non-agricultural enterprises, and finding other form of off-farm employment, among others. It has been shown in a number of studies that income diversified households are more food secure because of the different income streams which avail more income. Other studies on determinants of household income diversification in developing countries have identified institutional, household and farm characteristics as key in explaining income diversification. Fewer studies have, however, explored food security-income diversification- climate change nexus. This study tries to fill this gap by analysing a 3-wave panel data collected in different parts of the country in the years 2004, 2007, and 2010. This is done in two steps: in the first step, we analysed the influence of income diversification and other covariates on food security status in rural households in Kenya. The argument for this first step is that various factors including income diversification and climate change are expected to influence food security status in rural households. In the second step, we analysed the determinants of income diversification. To capture the differences in the different agro-ecological zones (AEZs) in the country, the panel data were also decomposed and analysed at the AEZ level. The objective of the disaggregated analysis is to unmask AEZ level difference which could be hidden in the country level analysis. Results indicate that income diversification influences food security amongst rural households in Kenya, and that both food security and income diversification are also influenced by climate change, household, farm, and institutional characteristics. The disaggregated data results also indicate differences in determinants of food security and income diversification in the AEZs. We conclude that nationwide data is important in explaining food security and income diversification in the Kenya, but localized analysis might bring out specific issues that are unique to a particular environment, and should therefore be considered if data are available.